Rip Van Winkle Essay, Research Paper

Rip Van Winkle is an interesting folk tale that tells the

story of a lazy man who minded his own business. Many have

heard the tale before, but few have actually read it. In

my opinion the story is meant to be heard and not read. I

think that is was written for the middle class, many of

whom could not read any way. Hearing the story is much

more effective than reading it. If you listen to the

story, the storyteller can use tone and other speaking

devices to set the scene and get the moral of the story

across more easily. I especially liked the way that

Irving portrayed Rip as being such a submissive husband.

The way that she described their relationship was quite

amusing. The fear that he had while he was finding his way

home kept me interested. I wanted to find out what was

going to happen when he got home and had to confront his

wife. Come to find out that his wife was dead and his

whole life had changed. I don’t know how someone could

fall asleep for such a long time or what the moral of the

story is but it was a very interesting story. After

hearing this story people wanted to work hard and not be

lazy like Rip Van Winkle. The story probably motivated

them and that is probably why it was told. In the end

everything ended up ok for Rip but he missed so much of

life and so many important events.